Remote Desktop Services vs. NoMachine Enterprise Desktop

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Remote Desktop Services
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Remote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A
NoMachine Enterprise Desktop
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
NoMachine, headquartered in Luxembourg, offers the NoMachine Enterprise Desktop software solution for fast, easy and secure access to remote desktops. Business users can use Enterprise Desktop to remotely access their work computers while traveling or working from offsite locations.N/A
Pricing
Remote Desktop ServicesNoMachine Enterprise Desktop
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Remote Desktop ServicesNoMachine Enterprise Desktop
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Remote Desktop ServicesNoMachine Enterprise Desktop
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Remote Desktop ServicesNoMachine Enterprise Desktop
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
8.9
3 Ratings
7% above category average
NoMachine Enterprise Desktop
8.0
1 Ratings
3% below category average
Screen sharing9.33 Ratings8.01 Ratings
File transfer9.33 Ratings00 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session8.73 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations9.02 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management9.02 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Session record9.52 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts8.02 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Multi-platform remote control00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Remote Desktop ServicesNoMachine Enterprise Desktop
Small Businesses
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Score 9.8 out of 10
Getscreen.me
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Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
mRemoteNG
mRemoteNG
Score 9.7 out of 10
mRemoteNG
mRemoteNG
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
Score 9.1 out of 10
Remote Desktop Services
Remote Desktop Services
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Remote Desktop ServicesNoMachine Enterprise Desktop
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(17 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
3.0
(1 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Remote Desktop ServicesNoMachine Enterprise Desktop
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Remote Desktop services are well suited for people looking to connect to Local computers/Servers after connecting to VPN or Local Area Network. It is easy to use and performs superbly without any issues. However, it does not have support for connecting to Non-Windows-based Devices and Applications like Teamviewer beat RDP when it comes to connecting to machines outside one's network.
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NoMachine
If you just want to connect to the server and do work (like Linux server-workstation type), NoMachine Enterprise Desktop is great, except for the keyboard mapping issue, which you have to correct in a setup of the remote server (almost) every time you log on. The graphics are smooth and fast. Overall response speed is very good, too. I like it.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • When you connect with RDS, everything looks and feels (and is) exactly like you're sitting at that desktop. This is great for us and for users.
  • You can sign in with RDS and the desktop will be the same as when you left it (if you choose to set it up that way).
  • Although they take some setup, RemoteApps are a very handy way to let users access a program without requiring them to actually connect to a remote desktop on the server.
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NoMachine
  • Secure connection
  • Fast response over internet
  • Really look like you are sitting in front of the machine you are connecting.
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Cons
Microsoft
  • Remote Desktop Services currently does not support multiple monitors on the terminal server. Unlike other applications such as Teamviewer, there's no feature to toggle between multiple screens even if they were connected to the terminal server.
  • Remote Desktop Services should provide an option to scale up or down the screen size after a connection is established. Currently you can only adjust the screen size prior to a connection is established. So you'll have to take a best guess at what display screen resolution will fit best on your screen.
  • Remote Desktop Services should offer some kind of menu to send special key strokes like Ctrl+Alt+Del to the terminal server. Currently the substitute for that particular combination is Ctrl+Alt+End. But I have yet to discover a replacement for other combination keystrokes such as Alt+PrintScrn.
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NoMachine
  • Keyboard mapping between client and host is often screwed up.
  • Cut and paste between client and host is not convenient
  • Would be nice if there was a function of simple file transfer between client and host
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Usability
Microsoft
The initial setup for Remote Desktop Services is complex, and licensing is costly. Each user connects to their virtual desktop hosted by a single server or group of servers, so a change or issue with servers quickly impacts every single user at the same time. Aside from that, users appreciate seeing their same personal desktop from any device or geographical location.
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NoMachine
No answers on this topic
Performance
Microsoft
There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
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NoMachine
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Microsoft
As with any Microsoft Server product, support for Remote Desktop Services requires a paid support package. These are license-based and very costly, on top of the already costly product licensing. Microsoft's licensing is complicated to begin with, so setting up licensing alone essentially requires a licensing expert's counsel. There is community documentation and support available on Microsoft websites, as well as community websites.
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NoMachine
I haven't consulted with customer support, so I don't have an opinion. However, from the usefulness of the product, I think the support is also good
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
We selected Remote Desktop Services based upon price alone. Other solutions on the market are significantly more expensive, but if your company can foot the bill you should seriously consider products that have been on the market for longer. The lack of an ability to easily upgrade farm servers has been a challenge for us - although it is still faster than updating an application on 2000+ machines. The lack of a centralized management console in 2008 R2 is also challenging, but you get by with the tools available to you. If you don't have the money to spend on Citrix or VMWare Horizon, Remote Desktop Services is a decent replacement.
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NoMachine
Again, the NoMachine is a real virtual terminal, and you don't need to install another Linux on your machine to fully exploit the X-terminal function. This makes the disk and memory usage of the client minimum. No issue on the screen. It is really good.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Allowed remote users access from home
  • Shared file access for multipolar users from a centralized location
  • Cost to add additional users when maxed out
  • Purchase multiple licenses for programs to run in virtual machines. Or unable to run on a virtual machine
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NoMachine
  • It makes the access to server much easier and convenient
  • Connection is very stable, which makes works very efficient
  • I don't need to reboot my Windows PC to switch to Linux in order to fully exploit the working environment of the server.
  • No negative impact
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ScreenShots